Golf Course Report
May/June 2017
This report is aptly named May/June as it encompasses our first
closure that began in May and will conclude this Friday, June 9th. That is, if we can get it to stop raining
long enough to mow some grass. As May
begins, our team focuses on managing the excessive growth of our turf grasses
through a multitude of aggressive cultural practices. Aerification, verti-cutting and topdressing
are all used to reduce and/or dilute Organic Matter and Thatch that accumulate
in our turf.
Our Tuesdays in May were spent verti cutting and
topdressing. Our new verti cut reels
that accompanied our equipment package in October are the latest technology equipped
with carbide tipped blades. These
vertical blades physically remove horizontal runners and decaying material
below the canopy. The benefits of this practice
were reaped by those that played in the Memorial Day Scramble. We will continue this program throughout the
growing season with the goal of have firmer truer greens in the Fall.
On May 28th we started the first of three 11 day
closures. We had a full slate of
activities planned and nearly accomplished them all. The summer annuals were installed during the
first week. They are typically installed
at the beginning of May but we delayed planting due to the severe drought. Needless to say, they are getting plenty of
water now! Our greens received a full
treatment, DryJect application started the week, followed by topdressing, a
core aerification, a verti-cutting, a brush/roll and finally a little fertility. The tees, fairways, collars and approaches
were all aerified. The tees and
approaches both received some topdressing and verti-cutting. All this was wrapped up before Friday
afternnon when the skies opened up to the tune of 1.6 inches. Little did we know, that was just the tip of
the Iceberg. Saturday was somewhat dry which
allowed us to get some mowing done and to fertilize the entire golf
course. As the weather turned for the
worse at the beginning of this week we have had to adjust our plans. As Mother Nature allows, we will get the
course cleaned up, mowed and playable for our targeted opening.
On a final note, the cart path project that consists of
grassing over a majority of the soft paths and adding short extensions of
concrete to existing paths is underway.
We are in the process of hauling fill dirt to the locations to be
grassed. Once this is in place we will
install the sod. I am working with a
contractor regarding the concrete portion of the project with the goal of
completing this during the July closure.
Just for reference. I am posting this at 5 pm on Wednesday
June 7th. We have had over 11 inches of rain since Friday. And it still Raining!
